ArticleGlobal spine journal2022
Is There Clinical Improvement Associated With Intradiscal Therapies? A Comparison Across Randomized Controlled Studies.
Article in Global spine journal, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Stem cells and discogenic back pain.British medical bulletin · 2023Pooled it
- Surviving the Nucleus Pulposus Desert: Next-Generation Strategies for Intervertebral Disc Cell Therapy.JOR spine · 2026Article
- Defining the Human Nucleus Pulposus Microenvironment and Its Impact on Cell Matrix Synthesis and Metabolic Activity.JOR spine · 2026Article
- Intra-articular cervical facet joint corticosteroid injections in patients with increased peri-facet MRI STIR signal. A prospective, multi-center case series.Interventional pain medicine · 2025Article
- In silico modeling the potential clinical effect of growth factor treatment on the metabolism of human nucleus pulposus cells.JOR spine · 2024Article
- Article
- Comprehensive narrative review on the analysis of outcomes from cell transplantation clinical trials for discogenic low back pain.North American Spine Society journal · 2023Article
- Intradiscal treatment of the cartilage endplate for improving solute transport and disc nutrition.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2023Article
- The contributions of cartilage endplate composition and vertebral bone marrow fat to intervertebral disc degeneration in patients with chronic low back pain.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2022Observational
- Article
- The American Society of Pain and Neuroscience (ASPN) Evidence-Based Clinical Guideline of Interventional Treatments for Low Back Pain.Journal of pain research · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
STUDY
designPost hoc comparison using single-site data from 4 multicenter randomized controlled trials.
objectivesDiscogenic back pain is associated with significant morbidity and medical cost. Several terminated, unreported randomized controlled trials have studied the effect of intradiscal biologic injections. Here we report single-center outcomes from these trials to determine if there is clinical improvement associated with these intradiscal injections.
methodsPost hoc comparison was performed using single-site data from 4 similar multi-center randomized controlled trials. All trials evaluated an injectable therapy (growth factor, fibrin sealant, or stem cells) for symptomatic lumbar disc disease with near-identical inclusion and exclusion criteria. Demographics and patient reported outcomes were analyzed across treatment arms postinjection.
resultsA total of 38 patients were treated with biologic agents and 12 were treated with control saline injections. There was a significant decrease in visual analogue score (VAS) pain for both the investigational and saline groups up to 12 months postinjection (
conclusionsA single-center analysis of 4 randomized controlled studies demonstrated no difference in outcomes between therapeutic intradiscal agents (growth factor, fibrin sealant, or stem cells) and control saline groups. In all groups, patient reported pain and disability scores decreased significantly. Future studies are needed to evaluate the therapeutic benefit of any intradiscal injections.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.